Designing Tu'lia - Planet Postmoderna

Creating Tu’lia

She is the leader of the Forest Guardians of Argus, the planet the NWC Team discovered.

The Guardians are a combination of the Hydrackian Ota and Ata factions. To meet the needs of Argus, both factions shed their previous classes and adapted to one mutual purpose, the protection of Argus’ secrets and the human DNA stored on the planet.

Tu’lia is, by nature, a green dragon and is well suited for her role as the leader of the Forest Guardians. She takes on a human-like appearance to make John Baxter and the rest of the initial NWC crew members feel more at home.

Designing the Character

Tu’lia’s skin is very fair and made of a fine, silky layer of scales that are almost undetectable to the naked eye. Her hair is comprised of loose braids that have taken the place of the tendrils that adorn most Hydrackian heads. Her eyes are a captivating bright green.

For the most part, she looks human.

Betrias Goncalves (Artist), picked out reference images for the initial design. We wanted to give her an other-worldly yet, human appearance, like a goddess. Compared to actually humans, this was not too far from the truth.

Working through the initial concept

Beatris began working through some preliminary designs. Just like in the design of Wraithacks, the villain of Children of Arla, she created some basic and very raw sketches. It helped us think through how the character would look. she already has some basic knowledge of the character since she read the book.

She pulled from the reference images and started giving them some direction. We discussed the different sketch versions.

Beatris segmented each of the designs into groups (A,B,C,D) and their separate sections (1,2,3).

We evaluated each and decided on a combination of C and D.

The first draft

This design combined the best of the versions. Tu’lia looks goddesslike, a leader, and her outfit is functional.

She could easily fight in the segmented skirt it is broken in a way that allows quick movements.

Her facial features look regal yet approachable. We decided against shoes or boots since she could easily run on any surface. Although in many scenes, she is seen with foot and leg coverings.

Testing out colors and materials

At this stage, it was time to test out some color designs. Beatris used the colors of the forests of argus, a lush combination of greens, blues, and purples, common due to the abundance of the luminoy crystal.

As in the style concept, Beatris again segmented each of the designs into groups (A,B,C,D) and their separate sections (1,2,3).

We evaluated each and decided on a blend. Beatris shaded the final and came up with a design that really illustrated Tu’lia’s character well.

The Final Design

Now that we had a final design, Beatris began the process of polishing the design, creating a concept panel that showed components and front and back views as well as a “beauty” shot that was textured and shaded.